AUVERGNE SAINT-PIERRE-DU-CANTAL -- shut down
Purpos e: production of uranium Typ e: surface mine and millling plant Locatio n: Saint-Pierre (Cantal) near Bort-les-Orgues Opera tor: Société des mines de Jouac, 100% subsidiary of Cogéma. Scumra opened the site. Later TCM took it over. Period of operati on: mine?-1982; processing plant 1978-1985 Raw materi als: uranium ore Nominal capa city: for the milling plant, 100t/yr of uranium Actual producti on: mine 90,000 t/yr of ore; plant in 1980, 66t Most of the uranium vein was located under the village of Saint-Pierre. In order to open the mine, the village was destroyed and rebuilt a short distance away. The plant treated ore coming from the site and from other small operations-- (Bertholène (Aveyron), La Porte and Le Longy (Corrèze), La Ribière and Chaux Maillat (Creuse). From Bertholène and La Ribière, it received uranium-laden resins for treatment [Andra 98]. It produced magnesium uranate with 70% uranium. In the old open pit are stored 507,760 t of coarse tailings containing 81 t of uranium (5.4 TBq of radium 226). In a decantation basin are found 70,000 t of fine tailings, including chemical sludges containing 12 t of uranium (2.4 TBq). Also on the site are 27,387 t of marginal ore containing 11 t of uranium (0.1 TBq). The total radioactivity of the radium 226 and the thorium 230 amount to 15.8 TBq [InfoU iii-iv.92; OCDE 83; CEAInf 82]. The milling plant was dismantled in 1988. The decantation basin is undergoing reshaping during the summers. Certain areas were ceded to the commune after reconstructive work. The site is enclosed [Andra 00]. |